US Energy Use Climbing Again - After 12yr Low In 2009

In 2009 Americans' energy use was at a 12-year low, no doubt pushed down by the Great Recession (or Lesser Depression...). Now, data released by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory shows that fossil fuel usage began heading up again in 2010.

In 2010 US energy use totaled 98 quads, up from 94.6 quads in 2009. Energy use in all sectors showed increases.

The majority of energy use in 2010 was electricity (39.49 quads), followed by the transportation, industrial, residential, and commercial sectors.

Though there was an expansion of wind power (0.92 quads in 2010, up from 0.70 quads in 2009), declines in hydropower caused renewable energy use as a whole to remain essentially unchanged.